shelby



O. C. SHELBY Clasp.

No. 226,559. Paten ted April 13, I880.

NFEI'ERS. PHOTO-ETHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

CHRISTOPHER G. SHELBY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,559, dated April 13, 1880,

Application filed January 13,1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknow n that I, CHRISTOPHER G. SHELBY, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Clasps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the clasp detached from thewebbing. Fig.2 is a similar view of the same attached to the webbing. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the line 00 :v, Fig. 1. Fig.5 is a perspective view of the pivot.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the same parts.-

This invention has for its object to improve the construction of that class of clasps in which one of the jaws is pivoted between cheeks or ears of the other jaw and both jaws kept closed by means of a spring coiled around the pivot or otherwise applied.

The invention consists, first, in making the pivot of a tubular or eyelet form, whereby it can be applied more quickly, and whereby also the clasp is materially strengthened and rendered less liable to get out of order.

It further consists in turning back inwardly the griping edges or points of the j aws, so that a more permanent hold will be obtained upon the article clasped, and slipping and tearing of the latter prevented.

In the drawings, A represents the fixed jaw of the clasp, having cheeks a a, between which the movable jaw B is pivoted by means of a pivot, Q, passed through said checks to a and similar cheeks on the movable jaw.

The spring 8, which closes the jaws, is preferably coiled around the pivot, with its free ends bearing against their opposite surfaces, as shown.

The pivot G is made in the form of a tube or eyelet, and is applied by passing it through perforations in the cheeks of the two jaws and turning down both its ends at one operation by the use of an ordinary eyelet-machine.

The rapidity with which the clasps can be put together with tubular pivots makes the in order that they can be readily riveted at the ends. This lightness and smallness of diameter is objectionable, for, in the first place, the pivot does not occupy enough of the space within the coiled spring to properly hold the latter in position so that it will operate to the best advantage, and, in the second place, the riveting at the ends almost invariably bonds the pivot and deranges the spring. Neither of these objections apply to the tubular pivots. They are made of suflicient diameter to fit almost snugly the coil of the spring without increasing the difficulty of turning their ends down by the eyelet-machine, and, inasmuch as the stud of the eyelet-machine is within them when their ends are turned down, it is impossible for them to be bent so as to cause them to bind in the coils of the springs.

The griping edges or points 9 g of the jaws A are turned or inclined inwardly, so that when an article is grasped by them it cannot bepulled out without opening the jaws in the usual manner, but, on the contrary, will, by the pulling, be held the tighter.

In most clasps the inclination of the griping edges or points is outward, and consequently a sharp pull on a fabric grasped will release the hold of the jaws and allow the fabric to slip and tear.

The base of the stationary jaw of the clasp is provided with one or more points, It, at the end and two side flanges or ears, 0 e. In attaching the clasp to a piece of webbing the end is placed between the side flanges and turned down over the point or points It. The latter is then turned down inwardly, after which the side ears, 0e, are also turned down in a similar manner, thus completing the fastening. The side ears are made long enough to abut against each other when turned down, and sufficiently wide to entirely cover the rough end of the webbing and make a neat l 2. A clasp having its griping edges or points joint. They may be made plain on their inturned or inclined backward, substantially ner surfaces, or they may be provided with as described, for the purpose specified. projecting points 0 e, for the purpose of assist- 5 ing in holding the end of the webbing. CHRISTOPHER O. SHELBY.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the jaws A B of a Witnesses: clasp, of a tubular pivot, 0, applied through W. BLAOKSTOCK, the pivotal ears of said jaws and upset at its M. CHURCH. 1o ends, substantially as described. 

